Come Back to Me
by OnewithNature
Summary: Maura feels as if she's losing Jane, can she save their relationship before its too late? Or will Jane stop running in time to realize what she's doing to Maura and finally make the first move?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone, I've been reading R&I fic for a while now and I've finally decided to stop being a scaredy cat and join in on the fun. This is my first time ever writing fic so I would greatly appreciate any feedback you guys have to offer on how I can get better. Be as nit-picky as you like. Hope you enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, although I wish I did. Like, for real.**

Jane sat at her desk idly fiddling with her pen as she struggled to get through the overwhelming stack of paperwork she'd been battling all day. _Fuck. I can't stand doing this shit._ _Why can't I just catch the bad guys and leave all this crap to—_

Jane's crude inner monologue was interrupted by the sound of heels clicking against the smooth surface of the bullpen floor. She looked up and her breath hitched as she saw Maura walking toward her desk looking as stunning as ever. She was dressed in a short, form fitting dark blue dress that accentuated her curves and made her presence hard to ignore. She complemented her dress with a fashionable black blazer and sleek black heels. Her honey blonde curls bounced up and down as she strut with a kind of ease that could only be described as effortless.

The combination of all these elements worked against Jane as she quickly tried to pick her jaw up off the ground before Maura caught her ogling. She looked back down at her desk as if she hadn't been looking.

"Hey" said Jane, as she feigned preoccupation with her work when Maura finally arrived and stood in front of her desk.

Maura shot her a warm smile. "Hey, are you ready to go?"

As much as Jane wanted to leave with Maura in that moment and neglect her paperwork until Monday, she desperately needed some time to breathe and gather herself before heading to Maura's house to have dinner. All of this was becoming too much for her. All of her new feelings for the M.E. overwhelmed her and seemed to consume her every thought, and spending time with her seemed to only make matters worse. Not that spending time with Maura was a bad thing. She loved Maura; she loved everything about her. But it was becoming particularly painful to be near her without being able to kiss her and hold her the way she wanted to.

Jane had been startled and caught off guard by her growing romantic attraction to her best friend in recent months. In fact, she was freaking out. She had no idea when her feelings for the M.E. started to change, but she definitely knew that they had changed. Somehow, someway, the brunette just gradually found herself having different thoughts about Maura; thoughts that people usually didn't have about their best friends. Thoughts that involved her being more than just a best friend to the M.E.

After undergoing a period of denial that lasted for about 2 months, she finally succumbed to her feelings a couple of weeks ago. Convincing herself that her love for Maura was nothing more than friendship had become too tiresome and emotionally draining. She felt like her head was contradicting her heart and soon realized that the act of denying her feelings had turned into nothing more than a torturous and pointless mental exercise. It was beginning to distract her from her work and it was actually part of the reason why she was so behind on her paperwork.

"Jane?" The sound of Maura's mellifluous voice snapped her out of her muse and she finally realized that she had yet to respond to the M.E.'s previous question. She scrambled for an excuse as she finally looked up at hazel eyes tinged with concern.

"Oh, sorry about that. Umm, I can't head out right now. I have to tie up some loose ends on the Johnson case and finish some paperwork for about 8 other cases."

At that moment, Frost looked up from his own mountain of paperwork and gave Jane a cursory glance.

Maura's countenance reflected a look of incredulity. "The Johnson case? I thought you guys concluded your investigation for that case 2 weeks ago when we confirmed DNA evidence linking Mr. Sanchez to the crime."

"Uhh, yeah. But Cavanaugh wants me to go over the timeline again to make sure that everything's in order for the DA," said Jane nervously. "Listen, why don't you pick up a pizza on the way home, and I'll meet you there in a little bit. It really shouldn't take that long."

Maura sighed. "Ok, that sounds fine," she gave Jane a small smile before turning to Frost. "Goodnight, Detective Frost."

"See you tomorrow, Dr. Isles," he replied with a small wave of his hand.

As Maura headed to the elevator, Frost turned to Jane with a questioning look plastered on his face. Jane immediately noticed him. "What?"

"What was _that_?"

_Oh my God, did he notice me staring at Maura?_ A look of dread crossed Jane's face. "What was what?"

"C'mon Jane, you know we completely wrapped up the Johnson case weeks ago. You just lied to Dr. Isles."

Jane breathed a sigh of relief. "Like I said before, Cavanaugh wants me to give it a second look."

"_Right_," said Frost exaggeratedly. "If that was true, you would have already delegated that task to me by now considering that the case is basically closed."

A wide grin spread across Jane's face. "C'mon Frost, give me some credit here. I'm not that bossy."

"Uh, yes you are." Frost returned the grin, but got serious moments later. "So do you wanna tell me why you lied to Dr. Isles?" Jane stared at him for a few seconds before responding.

"Not really. I don't want to talk about it ok. Can you just cover for me just in case she starts prodding? I don't think she believed me."

"Sure thing, partner." Frost gave her a reassuring smile and decided that he would not push her any further. He was used to playing this game with Jane, especially when it came to sensitive topics of discussion like her ordeal with Hoyt.

"Thanks," said Jane gratefully.

They turned back to their respective desks and tried finishing up before heading home for the weekend.

**R&I**

Maura walked through the front door of her home, pizza box in hand, and made her way into the kitchen after placing her bag on the sofa. Upon opening up the box, she smiled at the sight before her. Mushroom on one side, pepperoni on the other. She snickered silently to herself as she stole and ate one pepperoni from the brunette's side of the pizza and thought about how Jane would never let her hear the end of it if she caught her doing such a thing.

The blonde placed two mushroom slices on her plate, poured herself a glass of pinot noir, and sauntered over to the sofa so that she could eat while watching TV. As she flipped through the channels and searched for the new documentary about the current strain of H5N1 Avian Flu that was supposed to be airing, she came across the Red Sox game on ESPN. The M.E. saw that they were playing against the Yankees and was immediately intrigued and drawn into the game because of Jane's continual insistence in past about how badly the Yankees sucked. The Red Sox were leading by two runs and she decided then that she would watch the game so that she could inform Jane about what happened when she arrived. She knew Jane would appreciate it, and the thought of making the detective happy instantly made her happy. As she sat watching the game, her mind drifted off to a memory of her watching a Red Sox/Yankees game with Jane for the first time a couple years back.

_Jane and Maura were situated on the couch in the detective's apartment awaiting the start of the game. Jane munched on a mouthful of chips and washed it down with a swig of her beer. _

"_I really appreciate you bringing all these snacks, Maur. The only thing I had in my fridge was beer. I know that you hate this junk food, but trust me, watching the Sox beat the shit out of the Yankees will somehow make it taste better than it is."_

"_Language," scowled Maura. "Jane, I think we both know it's impossible for the events of this game to have an impact on the nutritional value of our snacks, let alone enhance them enough to improve their flavor."_

"_Whatever Dr. Smartypants," Jane teased. "Just watch the game. If you have any questions throughout I'll be happy to answer them."_

_The game was due to start in a few minutes, but Maura already found herself itching to ask a question. She shifted on the couch and turned towards Jane._

"_Jane, may I ask why exactly it is you think the Red Sox are superior to the Yankees? I took the liberty of doing some research in anticipation of this event and it seems to me that not only are the Yankees better, but they have a significantly better chance of winning this game than the Red Sox do based on their statistics for this season thus far."_

_Jane stared at Maura aghast as the M.E. continued._

"_The Yankees are currently 10 games over .500 while the Red Sox are 1 game below .500, the starting lineup for the Yankees has a higher overall slugging percentage than the Red Sox lineup and in reference to the current pitching matchup for this game C.C. Sabathia's stats seem to indicate that he is a far more dominate pitcher than John Lester. His earned run average is—_

"_Ok, that's enough Maur," interjected Jane, her voice colored with irritation._

"_What?" asked Maura, genuinely bemused._

_Jane rolls her eyes. "Really? I'm half expecting you to be sporting a Yankees jersey underneath that sweater right now. Thanks for the buzz kill."_

"_I was merely stating the facts, Jane," said Maura with a smug look on her face._

"_Yeah, yeah," replied Jane before taking another drink of her beer. _

_As much as it annoyed the raven-haired detective to have to listen to Maura rattle off a bunch of facts about why the Yankees were better than the Red Sox, she couldn't help but love the M.E. for being just as enthusiastic about the game as she was, well, at least enthusiastic enough to do research beforehand. Although she would never admit it, she always thought that Maura was absolutely adorable whenever she went off on her research-induced tangents. She loved to see her beautiful face glow with passion and delight as she explained everything there was to know about anything._

_Jane gazed at Maura for a moment; her chocolate eyes filled with love and adoration for the woman before her._

"_Hey, how about we make a bet?" she suggested suddenly._

"_Ok, what are you proposing detective?"_

"_I was thinking that if the Red Sox win, I'd like to see you call the blood we encounter at our next crime scene 'blood' and not a 'reddish brown stain,' said Jane with a sly smile. "And if the Yankees win, I'll do something you want me to do."_

_Maura thought for a moment before a sly smile began playing on her lips as well. "Ok, but if I win, you have to go an entire day without guessing about anything at our next crime scene until any suspicions are confirmed with my autopsy or lab results."_

"_Oh c'mon, Maura."_

"_Hey, I made no complaints when you made your ridiculous offer. Take it or leave it," said the doctor daringly._

_Jane smirked and accepted the challenge after a beat of silence._

"_Deal." Their verbal agreement was confirmed with a pinkie swear seconds later._

Maura laughed lightly to herself as she recalled losing the bet. But moments later, a sudden wave of sadness washed over her as she looked around her empty living room. This was honestly the first time in a long time that Maura felt really lonely. She glanced at her watch and noticed that it had already been an hour since she arrived home. The M.E. soon found her mind wandering back to the conversation she had with Jane earlier at the precinct.

Considering how much Jane hated doing paperwork, Maura thought it was rather odd for her to opt to stay at the precinct to finish up her work on a Friday night instead of getting it done early the next week like she usually did. It was very un-Janelike. Even when she mentioned needing to look over the Johnson case again, Maura thought that there was something that felt off about her excuse. But then again this wasn't the first time that Jane had acted out of character in recent weeks.

Maura felt as if Jane had become distant with her lately; almost like she was trying to avoid her or spend less time with her. Sure, they still hung out and talked like they normally did, but the blonde sensed that something was going on with the detective, she just couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Even if Jane was there, she still seemed like wasn't _there._ She felt like she was losing her best friend and she had no way of knowing how to handle the situation because she didn't know what was causing this sudden change in Jane's behavior; she didn't know what she was up against.

The doctor eventually drifted off into a deep sleep on the sofa with these thoughts resting in her mind.

**A/N: I don't know how long this is going to be, but I'm open to suggestions/ideas. Thanks for reading :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey! I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday. I want to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. Your input really meant a lot to me and was very encouraging. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: Six days have gone by since I uploaded the first chapter, and I am sad to say that I still don't own any of these characters.**

Maura awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside of her window, and when her eye lids fluttered open, her hazel eyes were immediately met with a blinding ray of sunlight. She shifted her head away from it and yawned. As she groggily rolled over toward the center of the bed, she looked down and realized that she was still wearing her dress. _What the hell…I couldn't possibly have had that much wine yesterday, right?_

The M.E. slowly began to replay the events from the previous day in her mind. _Oh, I must have fallen asleep on the sofa. But how did I get here?_ She lifted her head and looked around the room for a moment as if searching for the answer to her question. She then swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. After doing so, she immediately noticed a piece of paper on her nightstand; it didn't take her long to realize that it was in Jane's handwriting.

_Hey Sleepyhead,_

_You were already asleep when I got here; thanks for waiting up… just so you know, that was sarcasm. Anyway, sorry about being so late. Things took a little longer than I thought they would at the precinct. So I guess we'll talk after you wake from your coma. See you later, doc._

_Love,_

_Jane_

_P.S. You can thank me later for making sure that you didn't wake up with a stiff neck this morning._

Maura smiled warmly after reading the last line. _I should've known. _

The blonde put the note down and decided that she would continue with her normal morning routine despite waking up an hour later than she usually did. She took off her dress and made her way to the closet to find something to wear. A few minutes went by before she eventually settled on a worn out BPD sweatshirt given to her by Jane and some workout shorts. After tying up her shoe laces and splashing some warm water in her face, she walked into the kitchen already hyped up for her morning run. As she was eating half of a bagel, a familiar face popped through the front door.

"Hey, Maura," greeted the older Rizzoli.

"Good Morning, Angela," replied the doctor.

Angela walked into the kitchen and said, "It's nice to finally see you before you head out for your run. You're always gone by the time I get in here to start breakfast."

Maura chuckled a little. "I'm sorry; it was never my intention to seem elusive. My habit of waking up early is mostly attributed to my perfecting of what I believe to be an ideal sleep-wake cycle. It puts me in a better mood and allows me the opportunity to achieve maximum productivity throughout the day."

"Hmm, maybe you can figure out a way to help Janie out with that. She's always so grumpy in the morning. I'd like to see her be cheerful like you for once," said Angela as she handed Maura a bottle of water and began pulling out food items from the M.E.'s fridge to begin making breakfast.

"I don't know, Angela. I highly doubt my ability to achieve success in that endeavor considering how stubborn Jane is," answered Maura. They both laughed and the blonde left for her run moments later.

**R&I**

Jane slowly began stirring on the bed in the guest room. Although she was still sleepy, she couldn't help but be aroused by the smell of coffee radiating from the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her disheveled curls before getting up and moving towards the glorious smell. When she arrived near the source of the smell, she saw her mom standing in the kitchen making scrambled eggs. Jane realized that her mother was completely engrossed by the task before her, and a mischievous grin soon made its way across the detective's face when she came up with an idea.

She slowly tip-toed toward her mother, trying to be as quiet as she possibly could. When she finally got close enough, she yelled into Angela's ear. "Whatcha got there!"

Angela jumped and turned around abruptly, only to find Jane dying of laughter. "Jane! What are you trying to do? Kill me?!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry, ma. But I had to. That was too great of an opportunity to pass up on," Jane choked out.

"I'm glad that you find this amusing," said Angela, still visibly upset.

Jane calmed down after a few moments and offered another apology. "I'm sorry, ma."

"Yeah, whatever," replied Angela. "What are you doing here anyway? Didn't you leave last night?"

"Well, obviously not. As you can clearly see, I'm standing in front of you with my pj's on," answered Jane as she gestured toward her clothes.

Angela rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove to finish the eggs as she mumbled something inaudible about Jane always being a smartass.

**R&I**

_Jane opened the front door to Maura's home and closed it softly when she instantly noticed the M.E. sleeping on the sofa. She walked up to her sleeping beauty and admired her for a few moments. She always loved watching Maura sleep. In fact, she considered it a privilege to be able to watch the doctor in her most peaceful and relaxed state; it was a privilege that not only warmed her heart, but also allowed her to freely gaze at Maura with all the longing and desire she tried to hide from her when she was awake. She smiled when she saw the M.E. wrinkle her nose a little. __**Damn. This woman is going to be the end of me.**_

_Jane put her hands in her pockets and exhaled deeply. She still didn't know what she wanted to do about this situation. Her mind wasn't there yet. Heck, just the thought of ever acting on her feelings for Maura scared the shit out of her. All she knew was that she loved Maura and would do anything to make her happy. _

_The detective was pulled from her thoughts when she saw her mother strolling into the living room after entering through the back door._

"_Hey, Janie."_

"_Hey, ma." Jane walked to her mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek._

"_I saw your car in the driveway and thought I'd come check up on you two," said Angela._

"_Well, we're both fine. I left work without so much as a scratch and Maura's knocked out on the couch." She pointed her mom in the direction of the sleeping M.E. "See? It's all good," said Jane grinning at her mother._

"_I'll never stop worrying about you two no matter what you say," replied Angela seriously._

_Jane looked at Maura again after a moment of silence. "You know, if Maura were awake, she'd tell you all about how bad that is for your health. She'd start talking about its impact on your stress levels, your anxiety, and all sorts of other shit." The Rizzoli's laughed briefly at the thought before Angela mentioned the real problem at hand._

"_So, what are you gonna do?" asked Angela._

_Jane's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "What am I gonna do about what?"_

"_About Maura."_

_Jane's body stiffened as she stared at her mother. __**Oh shit. How the fuck does she know?**_

"_You can't just leave her on the couch, Jane," said Angela, when she noticed that her daughter wasn't connecting the dots._

_The brunette relaxed a bit after hearing her mother clarify what she meant. "Oh, right. Well, I can take her to bed. It's no biggie," she said nervously. She gave herself a mini pep talk internally. __**Geez. Get a hold of yourself, Jane.**_

"_Good, then I guess I'll be heading home for the night. Take care of yourself Janie, and don't forget about dinner on Sunday. You're not allowed to miss two dinners in a row." She quickly gave Jane a bear hug before the detective could escape her grasp, then headed for the guest house._

"_Bye, Ma," replied Jane. She purposely chose not to address the question of whether or not she would attend the Rizzoli dinner on Sunday._

_Once her mother finally left, she turned her attention to Maura and figured out what she needed to do. She grabbed Maura's blazer off of the armrest and slung it over her left shoulder. Then, she carefully worked to lift the blonde off the couch without waking her. Although she had a slim build, Jane had always been deceptively strong, so carrying the M.E. to the bedroom was not an issue. However, she soon became annoyed at herself because of the way she felt as she was doing it. It felt so right; it felt like something she should be doing every time Maura fell asleep on the couch. Maybe even something she should have the privilege of doing as her lover._

_As she walked, the doctor stirred a bit in her arms but didn't wake. Upon reaching the bedroom, she delicately laid Maura on the bed and gently removed her heels. The brunette knew how particular Maura could be about her clothes and shoes so she went into her closet and placed her heels in the designated shoe area and put her blazer on a hanger. _

_Jane wrote a quick note and left it on the nightstand, and before leaving the room, she pulled the comforter over Maura's body and tenderly kissed her forehead. "I love you," she whispered._

_After walking out of the room, she took a deep breath and moved toward the kitchen to grab a much needed beer. Her original plan was to head to her apartment after drinking her beer, but as the night wore on, one beer turned into three and the brunette decided that it would be best to spend the night at Maura's just to be on the safe side. She called it a night and soon disappeared into the guest bedroom._

**R&I**

Jane's head was throbbing a little bit as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Listen, ma. Do you mind if I take it from here? I'd like to finish making breakfast."

Angela turned to Jane with a look of surprise etched on her countenance. "Who are you? And what have you done with my daughter?"

"Oh c'mon, ma. Don't act like I haven't made breakfast before," replied Jane, as she leaned on the counter.

Angela laughed. "I could probably spend years trying to remember the last time you have. What's the occasion?"

Jane rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Nothing, ma. I just wanted to do something nice for Maura ok."

"Uh oh, what did you do this time?" asked Angela as she moved her hands to her hips.

"Nothing! Can't I just do something nice for my best friend? And why does it always have to be my fault?" Jane whined.

Angela narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "I know how you are, Janie."

"Whatever. Are you gonna let me do this or not?"

Angela glanced at her watch. "Well, I have to go pick up T.J. in a few minutes anyway. Lydia and Tommy asked me to look after him today. So, I guess you can finish this up for me."

She walked past Jane and moved to exit the house. "Maura should be back from her run in about 30 minutes. Don't burn the house down," she hollered over her shoulder.

"Finally," Jane whispered, once her mother was gone.

The detective took a sip of her coffee and began making breakfast. She started with the pancakes first and smiled to herself as she made them. By the time she finished everything, she quickly realized that she may have gone a little overboard and made too much food. In addition to the pancakes, there were waffles, French toast, regular toast, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs courtesy of her mother. But as she stared intently at the breakfast buffet on the table, she still felt like something was missing. She thought for a moment before figuring it out. _Fruit! Duh._ She went to the fridge, grabbed some strawberries, and grinned as she placed them on the table. She knew Maura would be happy to see that she added a fruit to the mix.

Although Jane was pretty content with what she'd done, she still had an underlying feeling of guilt eating away at her. Her guilt came not only from using work as an excuse to ditch Maura, but also from choosing to go to Dirty Robber with Frost even after she was done at the precinct. In fact, her guilt about ditching Maura yesterday night was what prompted her to want to do all this. She knew she got lucky when she came in and found Maura asleep on the couch because it gave her an easy way out of having to explain why she was so late. Her ambivalence about this entire situation was driving her insane and making her act like two different people. She felt like she was trapped in a never-ending cycle that alternated between love and hurt. On the one hand, she almost always found herself wanting or needing to be around Maura, but on the other hand, there were days when her presence was simply too much for the brunette to bear. On those days, Jane pushed Maura away because just seeing her was a painful reminder of what she couldn't have. _Maura deserves better than this. She deserves better than me._

Besides her situation with Hoyt, the detective couldn't remember the last time she felt so indecisive and unsure of herself. The only thing that remained constant in her tornado of uncertainty was her undying love for the Maura.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt something nudge against her right foot. She looked down and saw that it was Bass. She chuckled at the sight of him. Even after all this time there was still something so funny about Bass roaming the house as if he was a normal pet that most people had. Jane reached for a strawberry and crouched down to feed it to him. She gently patted his shell as she tried to encourage him to finish it up. _I can't believe I'm sitting here bonding with a freakin' turtle. Now I really know I'm losing my mind._

After having a moment with Bass, she figured that she had a few minutes to take a shower before Maura arrived, so she got up and headed to guest bathroom. But unbeknownst to Jane, Maura entered the house five minutes after she got into the shower.

Upon entering, Maura found herself bombarded with a variety of delicious scents even before she crossed the threshold.

"That smells amazing, Angela," said the M.E. as she closed the door. But when she walked in a few steps further, she soon realized that Angela was not there, or at least not in plain sight. She looked at the table and was immediately taken aback by the array of breakfast foods present before her. However, she smiled brightly once her eyes landed on a stack of bunny pancakes lying at the center of the table. Seeing them instantly brought her back to the memory of Jane chastising Angela for making them at the café. It made Maura happy to know that Angela still remembered that she liked them even after all this time.

She grabbed a plate and decided that she would have at least one bite before she went to shower. She put one of the bunnies on her plate, and sliced an ear off with a knife before eating it. The blonde then grabbed a strawberry and quickly ate it on the way to her bedroom.

The newly clean and fresh-faced brunette emerged from the guest bedroom 10 minutes after Maura exited the kitchen area, and as she was getting more coffee, she noticed that one of her bunnies were separated from the others and was missing an ear. Her signature Rizzoli grin danced across her face as she realized what may have transpired during her absence. As far as she was concerned, there was hardly any detective work necessary to solve the mystery of the missing bunny ear, so she took a seat at the table and waited for Maura to reappear.

Minutes later, the M.E. strolled out of her room and was pleasantly surprised to see Jane sitting before her.

"Hey," said Jane as she stood up and shot the blonde a warm smile.

"Hey," greeted Maura, her megawatt smile accompanied by dimples. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I live here remember," said Jane jokingly.

Maura tried to feign annoyance by rolling her eyes. But in reality, she actually found the detective's sense of humor to be quite endearing. It was one of the things she loved the most about Jane.

She walked closer to the taller woman. "I got your note. Thanks for bringing me to bed."

"What are best friends for?" replied Jane, still smiling. _What the fuck was that, Jane._

They continued smiling at each other for a few seconds before Maura broke the brief silence between them. "So where's Angela? And why did she cook so much food?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"She's babysitting T.J. today so she went to pick him up. I made breakfast while she was gone," answered Jane with a hint of smugness.

Maura looked at Jane incredulously. "Really?"

"Yes, why is that so hard for everyone to believe?" said Jane, a bit deflated.

Maura laughed at the defeated expression on Jane's face. "I'm sorry, Jane. I'm just a bit surprised, that's all."

"I know it looks like I went kinda nuts with the food, but I just wanted to do something nice for you," said Jane, her brown eyes glistening with affection. "You put up with so much of my garbage…" she paused.

For a moment, Maura thought she saw something in Jane's eyes that mirrored an emotion she couldn't quite place. But before she could dissect what it was, the detective quickly averted her eyes.

Maura got even closer to Jane and gently reached for her scarred hands. "Jane, I don't ever want you to think that I put up with you. You're not someone that I have to deal with, you're someone that I love and care deeply about. Your presence in my life makes everything infinitely better. I can't even imagine my life without you."

Jane remained silent and allowed Maura to pull her in for a hug. As they embraced, they both felt a wave of electricity between them. As good as it felt to be that close to Maura, Jane decided that it would be best to break away before she did something she would regret. It wasn't long before she came up with an excuse to leave.

"Hey, I have to go home and take care of Jo. He's been all alone since last night; he's probably wondering where I am."

"You didn't go home last night?"

"No, I spent the night in the guest bedroom," answered Jane. "I have to get a few of my things." She walked quickly to the guest bedroom, and returned with her belongings minutes later.

She stopped in front of Maura before leaving and said, "So, I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," replied Maura.

She watched as the detective walked out the door, and immediately began to contemplate what had just occurred.

**A/N: I kinda had a rough time writing this chapter…don't really know why. But I hope you liked. Hit me up with a review if you have any questions, suggestions, or any other comments. There are a couple of things from this chapter that I'll be looking to address in my next update, but until next time, happy reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter; it took a bit longer for me to grind it out and I just got back to school. But I hope you like it and I love you for reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. But my New Year's resolution is to own at least one by the end of the year; starting with Jo Friday ;)**

Jane had been parked outside of her apartment for an hour now. Her body was tense and felt very heavy; almost as if she were glued to the driver's seat of her car without any way of escaping. It was a Saturday, and she had nowhere to go at the moment, so she just sat there and allowed herself some time to think. As was the case for the past few months, her thoughts seemed to revolve around one person in particular. Maura. Her encounter with the doctor earlier in the day had both her mind and her heart racing at a furious pace, and although the day had just begun, the detective already found herself feeling pretty low on energy and ready to crawl back into bed.

She sighed, looked down at her lap, and suddenly realized that she had been unconsciously rubbing the scar on her left hand. Jane's thoughts about Maura had distracted her all throughout her drive back to the apartment and were tormenting her even after she arrived. In fact, Maura's words had been reverberating in her head from the moment she hauled ass and left the M.E. standing in the kitchen. _Did she really mean all that?...Of course she did, stupid. You're her best friend. She said all of those things as a friend; because she loves you as a friend…nothing more._

Jane moved her hands to the steering wheel, and slowly placed her forehead on the center of it while making sure to not accidentally honk her horn._ I can't keep putting myself through this. I'm gonna die of a broken heart if I don't figure this shit out._

It was exactly these types of moments that made Jane's head want to explode. Maura would often say or do something so overwhelmingly sweet that Jane couldn't help but imagine the M.E. loving her with the same amount of fervor that she felt whenever she looked into her sparkling hazel eyes. But once she took her head of the clouds and came back down to Earth, the reality of her situation sunk in and was so much harder to accept. It was like having a fantastic dream only to wake up and realize that it was just that, a dream.

The detective's untamed curls bounced up from the steering wheel when she heard a knock on her driver's side window. She looked up and saw Frankie standing outside her door with an excited Jo Friday in his arms.

Being the good owner that she was, Jane called Frankie last night and asked him to pick up Jo after making her decision to sleep over at Maura's. She felt really bad about lying to Maura about this. But at that moment, Jo was the only plausible excuse she could think of to get herself out of that house and away from Maura. _This is becoming too much of a trend._

Jane was by no means a saint, but she held herself to a high standard when it came to these things. Her line of work required the truth and solving cases as a detective proved extremely difficult without it. She prided herself on being an honest person not only for the sake of her job, but also because it was just part of who she was; an innate quality.

She pressed the 'down' button on the side of her door to slide her window down. She was met with a question even before the glass completely disappeared.

"What are you doing, Jane?" asked Frankie, confusion apparent on his face. Jo barked as he struggled to reach Jane. She grabbed the small dog from Frankie and laughed weakly as he began licking her face. "Aww, I missed you too."

"What's going on Jane, are you ok?"

She deliberately avoided her brother's gaze by focusing on Jo. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a little tired, that's all," she answered; her voice huskier than usual.

"What happened? The doctor kept you up again last night?" asked Frankie, with an amused smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Jane, as she finally met his eyes with an intense glare.

Frankie was a bit taken aback by Jane's harsh tone. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that you're always complaining about how she always has you up late watching some documentary."

"Oh," said Jane, suddenly feeling bad about her outburst. "I'm sorry, Frankie. I didn't mean to talk to you like that."

"Don't worry about it, sis. After all these years, I'm practically immune to your crap attitude," replied Frankie with a reassuring smile.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," said Jane, clearly not amused; although deep down she was glad that he had already forgiven her.

"Listen, why don't you get out of the car and get yourself some rest. You look terrible," Frankie teased. He moved aside as Jane opened the door and exited the car with Jo on her left arm.

"Thank you. You look just as bad," said Jane as she slapped his stomach with the back of her right hand.

Frankie raised his eyebrows at her and looked down at his belly. "Are you trying to call me fat?"

"No. I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing," replied Jane, her voice filled with a perfect mixture of drama and sarcasm. She eventually let a small laugh escape her lips when saw an expression of skepticism blanket Frankie's features.

"Well, I guess I better head upstairs. Thanks for taking care of Jo for me. I really appreciate it." She smiled at her little brother as she made a move to walk away. But before she could, Frankie grabbed her by the arm.

"Jane, if you ever need to talk, I want you to know that I'm here for you, ok? You can call me anytime."

Jane's heart melted at the sincerity visible in her brother's brown eyes. She almost cried on the spot.

"Thanks." She left him standing at her car and quickly walked up the stairs.

Frankie knew something was up with Jane and was hoping that his big sister would take him up on his offer. In his mind, Jane was not only the oldest of all the Rizzoli kids, she was also the strongest. Although he would never admit it, he really looked up to her and saw her as a hero; his hero. She'd been his hero for as long as he could remember and it pained him to see her being weakened by something he knew nothing about. As he watched her enter the building, he was startled out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone. He saw that it was his mother and answered the call. After having a small chat with her, he left to give Jane some space, but came back to her apartment about 2 hours later.

**R&I**

Jane had been gone for awhile now, yet Maura still found herself reeling from the embrace they shared just moments ago. She was feeling a little light-headed, so she slowly slid onto the couch and allowed her mind to reflect on her latest interaction with her best friend. The blonde was totally puzzled by their brief verbal exchange because she couldn't figure out why the detective would all of a sudden feel as if she were some sort of inconvenience in her life. She sat up and ran her nimble fingers through her strawberry-scented curls. _Now I definitely know something's going on. Doesn't she know how much she means to me?_

Maura genuinely meant every word that she said to Jane in that moment, and was hoping that she managed to effectively dispel any budding uncertainty that Jane had concerning the status of their relationship. The brunette meant the world to her and was the single most important person in her life. She never thought that it was possible to love someone as much as she loved Jane, and because they had been friends for years now, Maura couldn't even remember what it felt like to not have Jane in her life. In fact, she often found that she had no real desire to reflect on her pre-Jane life.

Back then, she always felt so lonely and isolated from the world, and had never known what it was like to be truly loved and appreciated by other people. But all of that changed once Jane swooped into her life and introduced her to the rest of her boisterous family. Jane was the first person to accept her for who she was and really make her feel like she was wanted and needed.

When they first met, Maura felt an immediate and inexplicable connection to the detective and soon relished the fact that she could always be herself around her without having to worry about saying or doing something weird or inappropriate. Sure, there were times when the brunette often teased her for being a complete brainiac and a relentless fashionista. But Maura had been around Jane long enough to know that she teased her out of love, and not out of malice, unlike some of the people in her past.

Jane was her rock, and had always been there for her whenever she needed her. So in this case, Maura determined that nothing was going to stop her from being there for Jane whenever she was finally ready to let her in and talk about what was bothering her.

A couple of minutes later, the doctor stood up gingerly and soon realized that her heart was beating like a jackhammer. _This is strange._

She went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water hoping that it would help calm her down a bit.

**R&I**

"So, how does it feel to be dumped for a booty call?" asked Jane. She smiled playfully at T.J. and stared at him expectantly as if he were actually going to respond.

"_Jane!_" scowled Maura.

Jane brought her head up from the stroller and laughed. "What?"

"This is serious. Your mother said it was urgent. I think Lieutenant Cavanaugh has finally worked up the courage to forwardly address their situation."

It was three in the afternoon, and Jane and Maura had finally recovered enough from their whirlwind morning to take T.J. out for a stroll in the park. This wasn't something that they had planned; it was just something that came up when Angela got a call from Sean asking that they 'meet up to discuss something important.'

Angela left T.J. with Maura and called Frankie because she thought it would be a good idea for him to spend some time with his nephew while she was gone. Frankie agreed and then decided that he would drag Jane along as well. He hoped that seeing T.J. would make her feel better, even if it was only for a short time. It took some convincing on his part to make it happen, but when they arrived, he instantly knew that it was a good idea once he saw Jane's face light up upon seeing the cute baby.

After holding and admiring his nephew for a few minutes, he left when he realized that Jane and Maura were too busy swooning over T.J. to pay him any attention. As far as he was concerned, he might as well have been talking to a brick wall.

A couple of hours after Frankie's departure, Maura suggested that she and Jane get some fresh air and take T.J. for a walk in the park.

"I still think it's a booty call. She would have been back home by now if it wasn't," said Jane, her expression a bit smug.

She looked adoringly at T.J. again. "There's no good excuse for ditching this cute little guy. No excuse."

Maura watched in amazement as Jane picked him up from the stroller and began mimicking his coos. She felt a sudden urge to tell Jane all about how speaking to him in regular language instead of baby talk would work to expedite his language development, but she soon found that she couldn't bring herself to interrupt this wonderfully heart-warming moment.

Maura had seen Jane interact with babies many a time before T.J. came into their lives, but for some reason, she was always in awe of her whenever she saw her playing with the younger Rizzoli. She loved to see this side of Jane, and she especially loved the fact that this adorable little baby could instantly turn the big, bad detective into a pile of mush. It was almost as if Jane had a different glow to her whenever she was around T.J; a maternal glow.

She continued to smile as she admired her two favorite Rizzolis. _She's going to be an incredible mother someday._

The doctor was immediately snapped out of her reverie when she looked past Jane for a moment and noticed a familiar face occupying her line of sight. She moved quickly to get the brunette's attention.

"Jane!"

"What?" A look of concern flashed across the Jane's face. She was a bit startled by Maura's apprehensive tone.

"Giovanni's here!"

"What! Where?" said Jane, suddenly understanding the reason for Maura's tone.

"Behind you," answered Maura. Jane turned around briefly to survey the park and quickly noticed the mechanic. He was about 25 feet away from them and was bending down to pet a dog; presumably his dog.

"Fuck." The detective spun back toward Maura and quickly placed T.J. in his stroller. She turned the stroller in the opposite direction and urged the blonde to follow her lead. "Let's go."

Jane wanted to run so badly, but she couldn't because number one, she had a baby to look after, and number two, Maura was wearing heels. They had already taken ten quick steps in the opposite direction when they suddenly heard the sound of an obnoxiously familiar voice yelling after them.

"Jane!" hollered Giovanni. The two women stopped in their tracks and unwillingly turned around to greet him. They watched silently as he finally closed the distance between them while holding onto his dog with a leash.

"Hello, Giovanni," said Maura with a small smile. "Hey," added Jane, as she smiled through gritted teeth.

"Hey, girls. What's up? Haven't seen you two in a while," replied Giovanni enthusiastically.

"Nothing much. Just doing what we do best; catching bad guys," said Jane, trying to be as polite as she could.

"Cool. So you guys still together, right?"

"Yes," answered Maura, as she casually slipped her arm around the back of Jane's waist and shot her a seductive smile.

The detective felt a jolt of electricity run through her body the moment the M.E. touched her; she almost jumped a little bit when she felt the sensation. Her heart fluttered when her brown eyes met Maura's, and for a split second, she allowed herself to believe that they really were a couple. _Shit. I knew this was gonna happen._

Giovanni turned his attention to the baby that was absently gazing up at him. "Wait a minute, if you guys are still together, does that mean that this is your kid?" He bent down to get a closer look at the baby. "He kinda looks like Jane."

Jane stared at the mechanic with wide eyes; his question and suggestion effectively rendering her speechless. Maura noticed the brunette's quietness regarding the remark and stepped in to clarify the misunderstanding. She chuckled before she began her explanation.

"No, he's not our baby. This is Jane's nephew, T.J; he's Tommy's son."

"Cool. He's already lookin' like a stud. When he gets a little older, tell Tommy to bring him by the garage sometime so I can start teachin' him how to wow the ladies," said Giovanni, a confident smile gracing his face.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure thing." _Over my dead body._

"Well, I guess we better get going. It was nice seeing you, G," said Jane, eager to escape both the conversation and Maura's death grip on her waist.

"Wait," he called, before Jane could turn away.

"What?" asked the detective a bit harshly. She was getting impatient.

"What do you guys think of my new dog? I got one cause I heard it was a great way to pick up chicks. It looks nice, right?"

The blonde and the brunette looked down toward Giovanni's right leg where the dog sat. "Yes, Golden Retrievers are quite handsome," Maura responded. "And in addition to that, they are known to be very intelligent and loyal dogs. Their gentle nature and innate friendliness make them ideal family pets. In fact_—_

"Yeah, it's a great dog. But we really must be going," interrupted Jane. She knew that they'd be in for a long googlemouth lecture on the history of Golden Retrievers if she didn't step in and put a stop to it before things got out of hand.

"Ok, I'll see you guys later. But remember that my offer still stands. Anytime you change your mind about tryin' it with me, just call me up and I'll get us nice a room at the hotel down the road from the station."

Jane nearly busted out laughing. "We'll hold you to that," she said, as she turned away with T.J. Maura followed closely behind as she said her goodbye to Giovanni.

She caught up to Jane seconds later. "Geez. When are we gonna stop running into that guy?"

Maura laughed at the question. "He's not _that_ bad."

"If he's not that bad, then why didn't you wanna date him?" asked Jane with a smirk.

"He's not my type," replied the doctor with a semi-straight face.

"Yeah, that's the reason; he's not your type. It's definitely not because he wanted to kiss you by licking your face like a dog, or because he sounds like a doofus every time he opens up his mouth," answered Jane, sarcastically.

They soon reached a park bench and decided to sit and take a break from walking. Once they sat, the younger Rizzoli began cooing again and stretched his arms out as if he were trying to grab something out of the air. Maura smiled at the act and reached into his bag under the stroller to take out one of his toys. She gently placed it in his small hands and watched amused as he struggled to hold onto it. Maura found that he was remarkably active for a 3 month old and loved to test his monthly development using small and simple tricks.

Meanwhile, Jane sat back and allowed herself to silently appreciate what she was witnessing. She loved the fact that Maura loved T.J. so much. They were not related in any way, but that never stopped the doctor from loving him with all that she had. _She's totally gonna spoil him...what am I saying? She's already spoiling him._

She smiled to herself as she once again became absorbed in her thoughts about Maura. She was caught off guard when Giovanni mentioned it earlier. But now, as she sat watching the honey blonde play with T.J, she couldn't help but think about what it would be like to raise kids with her someday. A small laugh escaped her lips at the thought of having a ton of mini-Maura's running around their house.

Maura looked up from the stroller when she heard the brunette laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" she inquired.

"Nothing," said Jane, quickly but nonchalantly. _Shit._

"C'mon, Jane. What is it? T.J. and I wanna laugh too," the blonde responded with a smile.

"It's nothing, ok."

"If it's nothing, then why don't you just tell me?" asked the doctor. She was a bit confused as to why Jane was withholding this information.

"Let's not do this right now, Maura," replied Jane, her voice stern.

Maura stared intently at the detective for a moment before deciding to drop the subject. _She's shutting down again._

They shared a brief silence; their hearing temporarily occupied by the sound of energized kids running and shouting yards away from them.

Jane took a deep breath and finally decided to break the silence between them.

"Maura?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry," she began solemnly. "I've been a real jerk lately, and you don't deserve that. I've never had someone be as patient with me as you have, and I want you to know that I really appreciate that."

Maura smiled warmly at the brunette and gently laced the fingers on her right hand into Jane's left hand on the bench. She gazed into the detective's chocolate eyes and felt nothing but love.

"What are best friends for?" she said, still smiling.

Jane was relieved to know that the blonde accepted her apology, but she instantly felt her heart break into small pieces once she fully absorbed her response. _You're just her best friend, nothing more._

**A/N: So, what do you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way, I'd love to hear your opinion. I promise to be quicker with the next update. Thanks for reading :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! I want to apologize again for being super late with the update. School kind of got in the way so I had to write it in smaller increments this time around. My brain is kind of fried right now, so please excuse any errors that may appear. I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. But I'm glad to say that I am now the proud owner of both the S1 and S2 DVDs. That has to count for something, right? Right?**

As the doctor entered the house, her nose was immediately met by the delightful aroma of Angela's masterful cooking. _That smells incredible._

Although she had long become accustomed to the matriarch's cooking since she moved into the guest house, Maura somehow never got tired of the wonderful smell that permeated her home on a normal Sunday afternoon before their weekly family dinner. It was like a security blanket that provided the kind of warmth and comfort that was never fully present in her home while growing up.

She walked into the living room and placed her large shopping bags on the sofa before excitedly making her way into the kitchen.

"Hey, Maura," greeted Angela with a warm smile.

"Hey, Angela. As usual, your cooking smells absolutely amazing," replied Maura with an air of cheeriness.

The older woman beamed at the compliment. "Thank you. Instead of just making lasagna, I'm adding Veal Marsala to the menu this week."

"That sounds delicious. Do you need any help?" asked Maura eagerly.

"Definitely. Would you mind cutting up the vegetables I laid out on the cutting board?"

Maura moved to the cutting board and grabbed the knife next to it. "You don't even have to ask," said the M.E. as she quickly began slicing a carrot.

The doctor didn't at all mind helping Angela in the kitchen. In fact, she loved it. She enjoyed spending time with her and saw it as a great opportunity to strengthen her bond with the matriarch while exchanging silly stories about Jane.

Over the past year, as they got into the routine of cooking together, Angela had inadvertently become Maura's window into Jane's childhood by providing her with a wealth of embarrassing information about her daughter's brazen antics as a child and as an adolescent. It made the doctor happy to know that the older woman was comfortable enough to share intimate details of Jane's upbringing with her; details that Jane would never dare speak of.

An even wider smile spread across Angela's face upon hearing Maura's comment. _She's such a sweetheart._

Although she'd been living with Maura for a while now, she often found that even after all this time, the doctor's incredible generosity and helpfulness never ceased to amaze her. In her mind, Maura was the most giving person she ever had the privilege of knowing, and she was enormously grateful for all that the M.E. had done for her family. Aside from giving her a place to stay after her divorce from Frank, Angela was most grateful for the light and love that Maura brought into lives of her children; specifically Jane.

Before Maura waltzed into their lives, Angela had always been worried about Jane being a crazy workaholic. She was pulling long hours at the precinct even before she was promoted to detective, and seemed startlingly content with drowning herself in work rather than spending time with her family. Despite Angela's continual nagging, this unhealthy habit continued right up until she met Maura. Jane's newfound friendship with the M.E. seemed to have an immediate impact on every facet of her life. She was less uptight, worked fewer hours, and actually allowed herself to enjoy some free time without feeling guilty. Angela was obviously ecstatic about this change in Jane's lifestyle and had always credited Maura with saving her daughter from a life filled with darkness and constant exasperation.

"So, how did your shopping trip go?" asked Angela. "I hope Janie didn't give you too much trouble."

Maura chuckled. "She gave me no trouble this time around, but only because she wasn't there to complain."

"What happened? I thought you guys were going together."

"We were, but she cancelled at the last minute and opted to stay home and rest instead."

Angela's eyebrows knitted in concern. "Is she feeling ok? It's not like her to be cooped up in her apartment all day."

"There's no need to worry. She assured me that she was doing fine and would be here in a little bit for dinner," said Maura, hoping to ease the matriarch's concerns.

"Ok," responded Angela. She was still skeptical about her daughter's condition but decided not to bother Maura any further with her maternal anxiety. She took a deep breath and added mushrooms to the sauce that she started a few minutes ago.

The M.E. immediately noticed the change in the older woman's demeanor and quickly devised a plan to get her mind off of Jane.

"So, I trust that your meeting with Lieutenant Cavanaugh went well yesterday?" inquired Maura with a grin.

The doctor got the answer to her question even before Angela said anything; she seemed to be bursting at the seams with giddiness at the mere mention of the Lieutenant.

"It couldn't have gone any better," replied Angela, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"That's great. Does that mean he'll be joining us for dinner?"

"No, he has some work to do today. But he'll definitely be here next week," said Angela proudly.

"Good. I'm really glad that you guys were finally able to find your way back to each other." Maura sighed, suddenly feeling discouraged about the state of her own love life. "If only things were that easy for the rest of us."

Angela thought for a moment before responding. "I think that it can be. You just have to be willing to take a chance and open up your heart to the one that you love."

**R&I**

Jane had been at it for an hour and a half now.

She was panting and soaked in sweat. Heck, even her hands were starting to cramp up. But she had no desire to stop despite her aches and pains. The brunette desperately needed to blow off some steam and she felt that this was the best way to let out all of her frustrations while getting a good workout_. _**Jab. Jab. Hook.**

She knew that Frost and Korsak had given her the dummy bag as more of a joke than anything else, but she developed a newfound appreciation for their get well present now that she was putting it to good use. **Jab. Jab. Hook.**

Jane had been peacefully lounging around her apartment for the better part of the day. She had slept in until about twelve, ordered some Chinese food, and caught the beginning of the Celtics game on ABC. The detective was feeling surprisingly well, and found that she was actually enjoying her alone time; it was almost as if she was breathing for the first time in weeks. In fact, everything was going pretty smoothly until she got a call from Maura about their scheduled shopping trip. She managed to weasel her way out of going because she wasn't in the mood to shop, and was certainly not in the mood to see Maura.

But the damage was already done; just hearing the blonde's voice over the phone proved enough to remind of everything that she was trying so hard to forget. So here she was, punching the crap out of her dummy, hoping that it would somehow make her feelings for Maura disappear. **Jab. Jab. Hook.**

Jane suddenly ceased her attack on the dummy after having a jarring revelation. She quickly put the pieces together in her mind and realized that the punch combination she'd been executing for the last 10 minutes was the same one Maura had insisted on using when she first began teaching her self-defense.

"Fuck!" She threw an errant punch with her left hand before finally walking away. She sat on the couch, thoroughly exacerbated, and slowly began removing the material she used to protect her knuckles. The detective winced in pain as she opened up each hand. _You know better than to box for that long._

She hoped that the cramps would pass soon and focused her attention on the Celtics game to keep her mind off the pain.

She was staring absently at her TV when her phone buzzed on the coffee table minutes later. She picked it up and saw that she got a text from Frost.

_How you holdin' up?_

Jane rolled her eyes upon reading it. The last thing she wanted right now was pity from her partner. She placed the phone back on the table without replying.

**R&I**

"_Yes!" exclaimed Frost with a fist pump. "I can finally get the hell outta here." He stood up and stretched his arms over his head._

_Jane turned to face him with raised eyebrows._

"_What? I'm just glad to be done, ok?" said Frost, as he tried to regain his composure._

_Jane laughed. "I know. I'm just screwin' with you." _

_The brunette had actually finished her paperwork 30 minutes ago, but wanted to wait for Frost before she left. They gathered their belongings and moved toward the elevator._

"_So you headed to the Robber?" asked Jane._

"_Yes, ma'am," responded Frost enthusiastically._

"_Ma'am? Really?" said Jane, her irritation apparent. _

_Frost grinned in response, clearly pleased with himself. They stepped into the elevator moments later and enjoyed a brief silence as they were being transported to their destination._

"_I'm going with you," said Jane suddenly._

_Frost shot her an expression of confusion. "What?"_

"_The Robber; I'm going with you." _

_They walked out of the elevator and into the parking garage. "But aren't you supposed to be having dinner with Dr. Isles?"_

_Jane hesitated before answering. "Yeah…but it's not that bigga deal. She can't kill me for wanting a beer, right?" She smiled nervously at her partner, hoping that her justification would suffice._

"_If you say so," replied Frost. He smiled back at her despite having his doubts about her explanation. __**Maura always has beer.**_

_They got into their respective cars and arrived at the Dirty Robber about 10 minutes later. Although they had been there a thousand times, there was something felt different about the vibe between them that night. Frost got the sense that there was something Jane wanted to talk about, and based on what he saw earlier in the day, he felt he had a fairly good idea of what it was._

_Frost wasn't oblivious to the way that Jane had been acting toward Maura at work recently and he certainly wasn't oblivious to the way that she eyed the doctor when she thought no one was looking. In fact, it reminded him of the smoldering looks that Agent Farrell used to give him when they were engaged._

_The detectives sat at a booth and were quiet for awhile as Jane tapped her fingertips against the hardwood table. _

"_Is there something you wanna discuss?" asked Frost, in an attempt to get the ball rolling._

_Jane looked at him incredulously. "No, no. I'm good."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, I'm sure. What's with all the questions?"asked Jane, slightly agitated._

"_Nothing. I just think it's weird that you're here hanging out with me on a Friday night instead of being with Maura," said Frost. _

"_How is that weird?"_

"_Well, the last time I remember us doing this was when you guys stopped talking to each other after you shot Doyle," responded Frost._

"_What are you getting at Frost?" snapped Jane. She didn't want to be reminded of that time in her life; the time when she almost lost Maura._

_Barry remained calm despite her small outburst; he was determined to help Jane get this out of her system. "Relax. I just wanna make sure that everything is good between you two. You've been kinda tense lately."_

_Jane softened at the sincerity present in his tone; he sounded worried. Her emotions threatened to drown her voice, but she fought against them and managed a hoarse response._

"_We're fine…I'm fine."_

_Frost could see her eyes watering a little, but said nothing of it. _

_They sat in silence again until the waitress finally brought them their drinks. Both detectives took a swig of their beers and remained quiet. A few moments later, they suddenly found themselves focusing in on the strangers around the bar in a futile attempt to lessen the tension in the air._

_Frost made the decision to keep his mouth shut mostly because he knew that Jane wasn't done talking and he wanted to give her the time she needed to gather herself and continue from where she left off._

_A couple more minutes went by before the raven-haired detective looked down at her beer and slowly began peeling the label off. _

"_I love her," said Jane quietly, her eyes still trained on her beer. "I love her, and I don't know what to do."_

_Frost looked up at her upon hearing her admission. She felt his gaze and finally looked up to meet his eyes._

"_Does she know?" asked the male detective, his voice solemn. Jane shook her head in response._

"_Do you plan on telling her?"_

"_No…no, I can't. She doesn't feel the same way. Telling her would only make things weird between us, and that's the last thing I want." A single tear fell down her right cheek as she finished her sentence._

_Frost watched as Jane wiped the tear away, and waited a moment before asking his next question. _

"_How do you know how she feels if you haven't even talked to her about it?"_

"_She's straight, Frost. There's nothing to talk about," answered Jane._

"_It's not always that simple, Jane. You have to at least try and figure out how she feels before you start drawing your own conclusions," said Frost._

"_And then get my heart broken when she rejects me, right? It's not happening," said Jane brusquely; suddenly regaining her edge._

"_Listen, all I'm saying is that it wouldn't be fair to either of you if you took it upon yourself to decide the future of this relationship without at least talking to her about this."_

_Jane stared at him for a moment and found herself at a loss for words. He was right; it really wouldn't be fair to either of them. But she wasn't about to admit that._

_Frost waited for Jane to respond, but continued when he realized that she wasn't going to say anything. "You're going to regret it if you don't. Trust me." _

_He wanted the brunette to trust him on this because he knew what it felt like to let the love of his life slip away, and he didn't want Jane to feel the same kind of pain and regret that he felt whenever he thought of Anna._

"_I have to go," said Jane abruptly. She didn't want to talk about it anymore; it was just too exhausting. __**I've had enough for one night.**_

_She pulled out a five dollar bill and placed it on the table before standing up. Frost mirrored her movements and exited the bar with her moments later. They had another brief exchange before going their separate ways._

"_You can call me if you ever need to talk, ok?" offered Frost. "There's no use in keeping your emotions bottled up."_

_Jane gave him a small smile. "Thanks." She turned to walk to car, but stopped in her tracks when she heard him say something else._

"_And for the record, I think she feels the same way."_

_The brunette didn't look back at him. She instead chose to continue on her path without saying a word. Despite hearing Frost's arguments, she was still very skeptical about the idea of her any kind of chance with Maura._

**R&I**

Maura sighed as she stood up straight to stretch out her back and take a small break. She'd been meticulously examining the body on her table for the past hour and was starting to become really tired. Although she loved doing her job, she found herself feeling a bit irritated for having to come in on her day off. _This is not how I hoped to be spending my day._

The doctor was having dinner with the Rizzolis when she got the urgent call; she left for the crime scene immediately, and began the autopsy as soon as she could. Her hope was to leave the morgue just as quickly as she had arrived, but as of right now, that didn't really seem possible. She tightened her grip on the scalpel and went back to work. The sooner she could finish, the better. _Or maybe not. _As much as she wanted to go home, she couldn't help but welcome this autopsy as a good distraction from everything that had been racing through her mind while she was at dinner.

Before being called into work, Maura had found herself completely consumed by her thoughts of Jane. The detective hadn't bothered to show up for dinner, and when the M.E. finally got a hold of her, she cited a "headache" as being the reason for her unforeseen absence. Although this seemed to be a very reasonable excuse on the surface, Maura knew that there was something else keeping Jane away; something bigger than a headache. _Is it Hoyt? Perhaps another apprentice I'm not aware of?...No, she would tell me. She would trust me enough to tell me._

"Dr. Isles?"

An easily recognizable voice suddenly brought Maura out of her contemplative state. She looked up from the corpse and saw Senior Criminalist Chang standing before her.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the blood results for our John Doe should be ready by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you." The M.E. smiled at her, and then refocused her attention onto the dead body. She looked back up when she realized that Susie had yet to leave the room.

"Was there something else?" asked Maura, suddenly curious.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you and Detective Rizzoli would like to join me and Alex at a nudist retreat next weekend."

Maura opened her mouth to decline the invitation, but Susie continued before she could say anything.

"I know that Jane wasn't too keen on the idea when I first mentioned it, but this retreat is specifically designed for couples, so I think you both would really enjoy it," said Susie gleefully.

The doctor suddenly turned beet red and accidentally dropped her scalpel on the ground.

"Are you ok?" asked Susie, a look of concern adorning her face.

Maura was completely flustered as she struggled to find the right words to say. "Uh, yeah. It's just that Jane and I are_—_

The Senior Criminalist finished her sentence. "Not really into that kind of stuff? That's totally fine. I just wanted to give you guys another chance to join us just in case you change your mind."

The M.E. was slightly dumbfounded as she stared at her subordinate without responding.

Susie exited the room a few seconds later when she realized that her boss wasn't going to say anything more about it. "I guess I'll leave you to your work."

Maura reached down to pick up her scalpel and noticed that her hand was shaking a little. She didn't understand how Susie could have possibly made such a wild assumption about her relationship with Jane. _It's not even like that. We're just friends._

The M.E. tried to finish the autopsy but found that she couldn't quite regain her focus; she eventually made the decision to leave and finish it tomorrow.

**R&I**

Jane was beginning to feel anxious as she waited for Maura to arrive. She completed all of the preparations 10 minutes ago and was expecting her to be home any minute now. _I can't believe I'm doing this. _

She paced back and forth in an attempt to calm her nerves. _I'm gonna kill Frost._

Although she blamed Frost for putting her in this predicament, she knew that she didn't have to do this if she didn't want to. She could leave at any time and pretend that this never happened. _Yeah, I could just leave a note. Maura would understand, right?_

The brunette heard a car pull into the driveway just as she was contemplating her escape. _Shit. _There was no turning back now. She slipped her hands in her pockets and took a deep breath.

The blonde had already seen Jane's car parked outside when she arrived, so she wasn't surprised to see the detective standing in the living room when she walked in. However, she was definitely not expecting to see a magnificent candle-lit dinner on display as she entered the dining area.

The small table was decorated with a beautiful red cloth that had matching napkins, and the center was adorned with a gorgeous vase that had been filled with a number of pink tulips. Maura noticed that the brunette had even gone through the trouble of laying out the appropriate silverware needed for such an occasion. She was nearly rendered speechless for the second time that day.

"Jane, this looks amazing."

Jane smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you like it." Her nerves seemed to vanish temporarily as she admired the look of pure happiness on Maura's face.

**A/N: Hmm…I wonder what has Jane suddenly doing a 180? All will be explained in the next chapter. But in the meantime, tell me what you think? Does this chapter deserve a thumbs up or a thumbs down? I read and appreciate all the feedback I get, so please leave a comment and tell me what's on your mind. xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: *runs and hides behind a bush* lol. Once again, I'd like to apologize to you guys for the 12 millionth time for being late with the update. I won't even bother with the excuse this time around…I just hope you enjoy it:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, but I'm hoping to be able to work something out with Tess Gerritsen if I can make to RizzlesCon…assuming she'll be there.**

_Jane was in her bedroom changing into fresh clothes when she first heard the furious banging. __**What the fuck?**_ _It sounded like someone was ready to kick the front door in and raid her apartment._

_The detective pulled her tank top over her head and quickly padded toward the source of the sound. She was only a few feet away from the door when she abruptly stopped in her tracks, suddenly realizing who might be standing on the other side of it. __**Maura.**_

_She took a couple of steps back and thought about whether or not she should just pretend to not be home. __**She'll have to leave at some point. **_

_The banging commenced again after a few seconds of calm, and the tall brunette stood frozen in place as it continued. _

"_Open up, Jane!" hollered a muffled voice from behind the partition. The detective shifted her stance upon hearing the plea. __**Wait a minute, that's not Maura…I'm such an idiot. Maura has a fucking key; she would've barged in by now.**_

_Despite recognizing the voice, Jane still wasn't sure that she wanted to open the door. She just wasn't in the mood for company today. Not Maura; not anyone._

"_I know you're in there, Jane. Open up!"_

"_Go away," Jane shouted, a current of irritation suddenly surging within her. _

"_Ha! I knew you were in there. Let me in."_

"_No," said Jane, curtly. She felt like an angry 10 year old that had locked herself into her room and was now arguing with her mom about whether or not she should unlock the door._

"_Why not?" _

_A short silence settled upon them before the brunette finally answered. _

"_I just wanna be alone right now, ok?" Jane replied; her tone much softer than before. The voice behind the door responded after another beat of silence. _

"_What if I told you I had beer?"_

_Jane laughed lightly at the question. "Really? You're trying to bribe me with beer?"_

"_Yes. Is it working?"_

_The detective couldn't fight the small smile that was rapidly forming on her lips. She moved a bit closer to the door and was greeted with a smug expression from Frost when she finally opened it._

"_You're lucky I just ran out of beer," said Jane as he strolled in with two six-packs._

_Frost chuckled and headed straight for the couch._

"_Aren't you supposed to be at dinner?" inquired the brunette._

"_I could say the same about you," said Frost as he handed her a beer. She grabbed it and took a seat next to him. _

"_Yeah, but that's beside the point. What are you doing here?"_

"_I heard about your 'headache.' He emphasized the word with air quotes. "So I thought I'd come check up on you."_

_Jane rolled her eyes. "I don't need anyone to check up on me."_

"_Well, had you taken the time to answer my text, I probably wouldn't be here right now," said Frost with a straight face; he tried to suppress a grin as he continued. "But being the good friend I am, I had to come over and make sure you were ok because that 'headache' sounded like some seriously life-threatening shit."_

"_You think that's funny?" said Jane, completely unamused by her partner's humor._

_Frost merely chuckled in response; a proud smile gracing his features as he took a sip of his beer. He picked up one of the empty Chinese food containers on the coffee table a few minutes later. "You ditched your mom's food for this?" he asked dubiously. _

_Jane downed a drink of her beer and completely ignored his question. She knew exactly where this conversation was headed, and was beginning to regret her decision to let him in._

"_Geez, I never would've guessed that your anxiety about Maura would eventually overpower your craving for Angela's food," continued Frost. He was deliberately trying to elicit a response from the brunette._

_Jane's countenance reflected a look of agitation as she finally acknowledged what he was trying to say. "It had nothing to do with Maura."_

"_C'mon, Jane. You don't have to play this game with me anymore. I know you skipped out on dinner because of Maura."_

_Jane shot him an intense glare before shifting her position on the couch and huffing out a breath. __**This is what I get for having a big mouth. **_

"_I don't wanna talk about this right now, Frost." _

_The conversation had barely begun, yet Jane already found herself feeling pretty weary of what was to come._

"_That's fine, you don't have to talk. Just hear me out," said the male detective, solemnly. _

_Jane quickly ran her fingers through her wild curls and nodded at her partner as a means of giving him permission to continue. Frost put his beer down and took a second to gather his thoughts before speaking. _

"_Listen, I know that this whole situation has probably been driving you nuts and making you do all sorts of things you normally wouldn't do, but I think you need to take a step back for a moment and try to see things from Maura's perspective instead of just focusing on everything that you're going through."_

_A small crease formed in the middle of Jane's forehead. "What do you mean? Did Maura tell you something?" The brunette was suddenly anxious about what Frost had to say._

"_No. But I think your hot n' cold attitude is really starting to take a toll on her, Jane. You should've seen her at dinner; she looked completely deflated after talking to you."_

_A worried expression blanketed Jane's features. "Really?"_

"_Yeah, she seemed really out of it and barely ate," replied Frost, seriously. "She's probably racking her brain trying to figure out what's going on with you. And to be honest, I think it's only a matter of time before she starts thinking that she's somehow done something to make you want to push her away."_

"_But she hasn't," said Jane softly._

"_Yeah, but only you and I know that. She doesn't. And if you don't tell her the truth about your feelings soon, I have no doubt that she'll continue to develop a million crazy theories about why you've been giving her the cold shoulder."_

_Jane was quiet for a few minutes as Frost's words marinated in her mind. __**He's right; I can't let Maura think that this is somehow her fault. She's been nothing but perfect. I have to put an end to this, one way or another.**_

"_So, what are you thinking?" _

_The brunette snapped out of her muse when she heard Frost say something. "Hmm?"_

"_What are you thinking about?" Frost repeated._

"_Oh, um…I'm thinking that I need to go see Maura…like, right now," said Jane, a hint of determination underlining her words. She put her beer down and got up to change out of the shorts and tank top she had on._

_Frost checked his watch. "You're probably gonna have to wait until she gets back from the morgue. She's only been gone for about an hour."_

_Jane's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "What?"_

"_She got called into work. Didn't she let you know?"_

"_No. Why didn't they call us to the scene?"_

"_We're not the only detectives working in homicide, Jane," chuckled Frost._

_The brunette narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever."_

_Frost grabbed his keys and stood up to leave moments later. "I guess I'll get outta here and let you do what you gotta do." He stopped in front of his partner before making his way to the door. "Good luck."_

_Jane smiled at him appreciatively. "Thanks…for everything."_

"_No problem." He smiled at her one last time and finally exited the apartment. The raven-haired detective took a deep breath and headed to her bedroom once he left. __**Here we go.**_

**R&I**

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of knowing Dr. Maura Isles as intimately as Jane has, knows that she was adopted as a baby and grew up with no siblings to speak of. They also know that she was a child prodigy who had wealthy parents fully capable of providing her with everything she could possibly want or need.

However, despite having these advantages, the M.E. always sensed that there was something missing in her life; like the rest of the world somehow knew a secret that she had yet to figure out. She always felt like she was sort of floating on the periphery and constantly on the outside looking in when it came to just about everything. And the more she experienced life, the more her feelings of loneliness and inadequacy intensified.

It's crazy to think that someone as brilliant as Maura could think of herself as inadequate, but back then, she did. Back then, in her mind, her inadequacy was the reason why her parents never bothered to give her the love and warmth she so desperately craved from them.

Yes, they were always quite fond of her, and often went out of their way to praise her intellectual achievements by rewarding her with luxurious gifts. But they often failed to recognize was that Maura didn't want gifts; she wanted love. She wanted her parents to put as much effort into cultivating a relationship with her as they did in maintaining their jobs and reputations.

But unfortunately for her, that never happened. And because it never happened, her feeling of inadequacy continued to eat her alive internally even after she entered adulthood. It began to function as some sort of disease that was constantly plaguing her right up until she met Jane.

Jane's presence in her life ultimately changed everything for her because the detective seemed to possess the unique ability to make her feel like she deserved to be loved and appreciated just as much as everyone else. But more importantly, Jane also seemed to be the only person that was capable of making her feel like she was not inadequate in any capacity.

Moreover, she often found that the detective's mere presence in her home or in the morgue was always enough to make her feel more special than she ever did throughout any time during her upbringing. So when she arrived home from work, and discovered everything Jane had done for her, the only thing she could think about in that moment was how special Jane was making her feel.

The doctor was totally flabbergasted by the sight before her and felt inexplicably overwhelmed by the glowing ambiance of her home. "What's going on?" she breathed.

The brunette leisurely stepped in front of the honey blonde and gazed adoringly into her sparkling hazel eyes before answering. _God, she's beautiful._

"Nothing. I_—_I just wanted to make it up to you for missing our shopping trip and for not showing up to dinner…I was also hoping that maybe we could just talk and have some alone time," Jane smiled. Her voice got a bit softer as she finished her sentence, but her words were still audible.

Maura smiled affectionately at her in response, and they both stood in place as they gazed lovingly at each other for a few moments. Brown eyes got lost in hazel ones as they remained enchanted by one another for what seemed like an eternity. They were seemingly unaware of the fact that friends usually weren't supposed to maintain such intense eye contact for such a long period of time.

Jane finally summoned up the strength to look away when she felt a blush suddenly creeping up her cheeks. "Uh, you should sit. I'll go get the food."

"You sure you don't need any help?" asked Maura, a smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, I got it," answered Jane nervously. She quickly turned away and disappeared into the kitchen. _That's right Rizzoli, you got this. Just stay cool._

The detective reappeared minutes later and set each plate on the table.

"I didn't have enough time to whip anything up and I know you hardly ate before you had to leave for work, so I thought we could just enjoy some of what my mom made earlier…I hope that's ok," said Jane as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"It's more than ok," Maura responded, her voice unintentionally seductive. She flashed Jane a reassuring smile and motioned for her to sit.

Jane was already incredibly nervous about confessing her feelings to Maura, so the sultry tone she thought she imagined within the doctor's voice only made her nerves a whole lot worse. She took a deep breath and found a legitimate reason to give herself a bit more time.

"I have to get the wine first; I'll be back in a sec."

The M.E. watched as the detective disappeared for a second time, and stayed put until her eyes eventually wandered over to the tulips at the center of the table.Maura knew for a fact that Jane usually never took much interest in flowers, and although she greatly appreciated the ones currently on display, she thought it was a bit strange for Jane to have bought them in the first place. _She doesn't even like pink._

Jane reemerged from the kitchen after a few moments, and caught Maura admiring the flowers. The brunette smiled warmly at her and slowly began pouring wine into both of their glasses. She interrupted Maura's train of thought with a fun fact she knew the doctor would enjoy minutes later.

"You know, when I bought them, the florist told me that they're supposed to represent perfect love."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Jane nonchalantly; she produced an exaggerated gasp seconds later. "Oh my God."

"What?" asked Maura, slightly concerned.

"Is it possible that I, for once, actually knew something that the genius Dr. Isles didn't?" Jane teased. Maura rolled her eyes at Jane's theatrics but couldn't help smiling as she did so.

The brunette finally took her seat across from the honey blonde and watched with great satisfaction as a look of surprise blanketed the doctor's face after sipping her wine.

"Jane! Is this what I think it is?" asked Maura, her voice filled with glee. She pulled the wine bottle closer to her and examined the label.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said the detective with a smile. She couldn't have been more unconvincing if she tried.

Maura giggled at Jane's attempt to feign ignorance. "So a 94' Chateau just magically appeared in my kitchen out of nowhere, huh?"

"Yeah," laughed Jane. "That's exactly what happened."

The doctor beamed at the brunette and took a moment to reflect on everything that had transpired since she arrived.

Although Jane had always been pretty popular amongst her family and friends for having a notoriously rough exterior, Maura was well aware of the fact that Jane seemed completely comfortable with allowing her unprecedented access to the softer side of her personality. It was something that Maura really appreciated and enjoyed because she saw it as not only a privilege, but also as a wonderful testament to the amount of trust that the detective had in her and in their relationship. However, in this instance, the blonde felt that Jane was being unusually sweet and thoughtful; almost like she was preparing her for something. _I hope it's not bad news…but if it's about what's been bothering her for the past couple months, then it's probably not good._ The M.E. frowned slightly at the thought.

Jane ate a bite of her veal, and was a bit startled when she looked up from her plate and found Maura staring directly at her. She could feel the doctor searching her soul; her warm eyes carefully analyzing every part of her being in hopes of finding something, anything.

Maura barely ever found it difficult to read Jane's body language. In fact, it's something that she's mastered for years now; often using it as a tool to better understand the detective's complex emotions. But tonight, instead of reading Jane like a book, as she usually did, she basically ran into a brick wall and found that she couldn't really come up with any analysis of what she thought the brunette might be feeling. Jane clearly wasn't giving anything away if she could help it.

However, although the detective was obviously trying to hide it, the one thing that Maura did manage to notice was the fact that she seemed to be favoring her left hand a little bit.

"What?" asked Jane with a nervous smile. She was squirming under Maura's intense gaze and could feel a blush quickly making its way up her cheeks again. _Shit._ _She really needs to stop looking at me like that._

The doctor eventually responded after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "What is this about, Jane?"

"What is what about?"

"All of this. The candles, the flowers, the wine," Maura began. "You're spoiling me and I wanna know why. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm—I'm fine. It's all good," said Jane, her voice a bit huskier than normal. She was committed to staying strong despite the fact that she could already feel a lump developing in her throat.

Maura kept her eyes trained on the detective, fully expecting her to continue her explanation. The blonde was determined to get to the bottom of this; it was just a matter of whether or not Jane wanted to make it hard or easy. But judging by her silence thus far, the former seemed more likely.

Jane tried to calm herself by taking another deep breath. Now that she was finally in the moment, the brunette found that she really didn't know how or where to start. The small speech that she practiced before leaving her apartment completely vanished from memory the second Maura walked through the door.

As Jane quietly contemplated how she wanted to begin, the doctor suddenly rose from her position and moved her seat next to the detective.

"What are you doing?" asked Jane.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" quipped Maura as she sat down. Jane shot her a questioning glance and the blonde smirked at her in response. "Give me your hand," she commanded.

"No, its fine," Jane objected.

Maura cocked her head slightly to one side and raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I know your cramping again; you've rubbed it at least four times since I've been here."

The brunette shook her head and smiled, suddenly realizing how foolish she was to think that Maura wouldn't notice. She stretched out her left arm and allowed the M.E. to take hold of her hand.

The honey blonde slowly began massaging Jane's palm. "So, what was it this time?"

"Boxing," answered Jane, slightly embarrassed.

"You wouldn't have to go through this if you would just take my advice and do yoga," Maura smiled. They were quiet for a few moments as the doctor worked meticulously to relieve the detective of her discomfort.

Jane remained silent as she watched Maura work her magic. She was becoming surprisingly calm despite their close proximity, and found that the massage was simultaneously fending off her cramps while easing her nerves.

"I chose pink…" began Jane.

Maura looked up from her task. "What?"

Jane gestured toward the tulips with her right hand. "I chose pink…the florist told me that all tulips generally represent perfect love, but each color has its own unique meaning attached to it."

The M.E. continued to gently knead Jane's hand as she tried to decipher what the detective was attempting to convey.

"And…I chose the pink ones for this occasion because their supposed to symbolize caring and affection. And I know that I've been a complete jerk for the past few months, and that I haven't been the best friend that you want or deserve, but I wanna apologize for how I've been acting and let you know that I still love and care about you a great deal even though I've been pretty bad at showing it lately."

Jane leaned a bit closer to Maura and locked eyes with the honey blonde.

"You've been absolutely incredible to me even when I didn't deserve it, and I'm really sorry if I ever made you feel like you were anything less than important to me, because that honestly couldn't be further from the truth. You mean the world to me, and I can say with absolute certainty that I've never really loved someone as much as I love you."

As Jane finished her sentence, she placed her free hand on top of the one that Maura was using to massage her left hand.

The doctor looked to the spot where Jane had moved her hand, and immediately felt a tingling sensation run through her arm. She returned her gaze to the big brown eyes before her and found herself a bit breathless.

Maura wanted to say something; she wanted to respond to the love that was so obviously visible in Jane's eyes. But she couldn't, she just couldn't. And it's not because she didn't want to, it was more about her simply not having the words to articulate or expressive what it was that she was feeling in that moment.

Their hands remained interwoven as the brunette patiently waited for Maura to respond.

They endured a couple more minutes of silence, and the longer Maura went without uttering a word, the tenser Jane became. She was starting to panic a little bit and was afraid that she might've come on a bit too strong. _I haven't even told her that I'm in love with her yet…_

Maura broke eye contact momentarily as her eyes slowly wandered down to the detective's luscious lips.

The doctor caught herself a few seconds later and looked up into Jane's eyes again. "I have to go," she said abruptly.

A look of bewilderment embellished Jane's features. "What?"

Maura untangled their hands and began smoothing out her dress as she stood up. "I'm just really exhausted…I had a long day at the morgue."

Jane stood to face her. "But what about dinner? What about—

"It was great," interrupted Maura. "It was all great, and it was just what I needed, but now I need sleep," said the blonde, a nervous chuckle shadowing her words.

Jane went mute as she studied Maura's face for a minute, desperately trying to understand what was running through the doctor's mind.

The M.E. eventually looked away from her and turned towards the romantic display. "Don't worry about all this; I'll take care of it after I'm done showering."

A tense silence consumed the space between them again before Maura finally walked up to Jane and whispered, "Thank you."

She gave her detective a quick kiss on the cheek and briskly headed toward her bedroom.

Jane was completely catatonic as she watched the honey blonde disappear out of sight. _What the hell just happened?_

**A/N: Oh my gosh guys! I was so nervous about writing this chapter, so I hope it wasn't too bad. But if it was, then you should leave a comment and tell me why. I'm usually pretty good about taking constructive criticism so feel free to fire away. And if you have any questions about this chapter, I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks for reading :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so excited to finally be able to update. This is by far my longest chapter so, as always, I hope you enjoy! Please excuse any errors that may appear.**

**Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.**

"Ms. Branson's DNA tested positive for the presence of marijuana," said the Senior Criminalist dutifully. She handed Maura a manila folder and watched as the doctor flipped through its contents.

"Just marijuana?"

"Yes, it was the only drug," replied Susie promptly. She was clearly making the effort to be as polite as she possibly could.

A doubtful expression consumed the blonde's countenance as she perused the file. "That can't be right."

Susie folded her arms and grudgingly stepped a little closer to Maura's desk in anticipation of the doctor's explanation. She muttered something under her breath as she moved forward. "I haven't gotten anything right in two weeks."

The Senior Criminalist was usually good about keeping her mouth shut whenever her boss got nit-picky about her work. But in this instance, she was finding it difficult to bite her tongue.

The doctor looked up from the file and sought clarification. "Excuse me?"

Susie recovered quickly and was glad that her sly comment seemed to be indiscernible to the honey blonde's ears. "Uh…I was just curious about what it is that you think is not right about the report."

A look of irritation swept across Maura's face upon hearing Susie's reply. She took another look at the folder and finished skimming its contents before delivering her curt response.

"Numerous needle marks were found on both of Ms. Branson's inner forearms. Based on my previous experience, I would say that this most likely indicates frequent heroin use through intravenous injection. How is it possible for you guys to have only detected marijuana in her system?"

Susie opened her mouth to answer, but was abruptly cut off.

"I'll send you new DNA samples within the next 30 minutes. I want you to run another round of tests," ordered Maura, her tone icy and unusually authoritative.

The doctor rose from her seat, handed Susie the lab results, and quickly exited her office. Susie stood there for a moment and briefly pondered the sudden change in her boss' demeanor over the past couple of weeks._ She really is turning into the queen of the dead._

**R&I**

Jane swaggered into the elevator and directed it toward the morgue with the push of a button. She was supposed to be going down there to pick up Jenna Branson's autopsy report, but in the back of her mind, she knew that she was just using the report as an excuse to go see Maura. It had already been two weeks since the evening of Jane's surprise dinner, and since that night, things had become extremely awkward between the two friends. They barely hung out outside of work anymore, and the few interactions they did have were often pretty tense.

Jane wasn't dumb; she knew how to take a hint. So when Maura started declining her invitations to hang out, the brunette eventually decided that it would be best to give the doctor all the space that she needed until she was ready to discuss what happened between them.

Anyone who knows Jane Rizzoli knows that she's not a very patient person by nature. She usually doesn't have the patience to deal with suspects who try to play games with her in the interrogation room, and she most certainly has never had the patience to forgo Instant in favor of watching Maura's coffee porn. And unfortunately for her, in this instance, although she was trying her hardest to give Maura as much space as she possibly could, the detective could already feel her impatience slowly betraying her the more time they spent apart.

Jane simply couldn't bear the thought of not having the doctor in her life, even if only as a friend. So after backing off for a couple weeks, she finally decided that she needed to be a little bit more aggressive and figure out a way to get the honey blonde to talk to her again. She desperately wanted to know where Maura's head was, and the only way she felt that she could figure that out was by reaching out to her again.

The brunette stepped out of the elevator and slowly made her way to morgue; her confident stride suddenly derailed by nervousness. Maura looked up from the body she was examining as soon as she saw Jane enter the room.

"Hey," said the detective with a small smile.

"Hi," replied the blonde a bit breathlessly.

An awkward silence blanketed the space between them before Maura finally spoke again.

"I'm guessing you're here for the report, right?"

Jane hadn't even been there for more than 5 minutes but she already found herself completely overwhelmed by the doctor's beauty. It was almost as if Maura became more beautiful each time she saw her.

"Hmm?" replied the detective.

Maura blushed a little when she saw the way Jane was looking at her. _How did I not see this before?_

She quickly turned away from the brunette's gaze and began removing her gloves. "The report; isn't that why you're here?"

Jane came out of her haze once Maura broke eye contact. "Yes…I mean, no."

Maura looked back at the taller woman with raised eyebrows as she waited for her to expound upon what she was trying to say.

Jane chuckled lightly before continuing. "Ok, let me start over. Yes, I came for the report. But I was also wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee and maybe take a walk." The detective sheepishly slipped her hands into her pockets as she finished her sentence.

Maura glanced at her watch. "I actually have quite a bit of work to get done."

"Ok…can we at least meet up at the Dirty Robber after work?" asked Jane hopefully.

The honey blonde walked over to her computer and began distracting herself with something on her desktop. "Um, I don't think I can make it. I may have to stay pretty late today."

An expression of disappointment hijacked Jane's features upon hearing Maura's response. She took a deep breath and circumvented the autopsy table in order to move closer to where the M.E. was standing.

"We have to talk about it Maura. We can't just sweep it under a rug and act like nothing happened," said Jane solemnly.

A couple of seconds passed before the doctor turned away from her computer to face Jane again. "I know," she answered quietly. "I just….I need more time to think."

The detective stepped a little closer into Maura's personal space. "Ok, that's fine. But I just wanna make sure you know that I meant everything I said that night, and that I don't regret anything that happened."

Maura smiled and gently placed her right palm on Jane's left cheek. "I know," she whispered.

Their tender moment was cut short seconds later when Maura's cell phone rang. The M.E. answered it and quickly left for another crime scene. Meanwhile, Jane headed back to the bullpen after listening to Susie explain some of the findings in Jenna Branson's report.

Although she was supposed to be focusing on her current case, the brunette immediately found herself ruminating on her conversation with Maura while on her way up to the bullpen. She was glad that their interaction wasn't as tense as it had been in recent weeks, but she still felt haunted by the uncertainty surrounding the current state of their relationship. The only thing that gave her a bit of solace for the rest of day was the small glimmer of hope that Maura had given her the night of their impromptu dinner.

**R&I**

"I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked, Janie."

Frankie was wearing a smirk that made Jane want to punch him in the face. But instead of punching him, the brunette figured it'd be best to wipe it off his face by mopping the floor with him in this game.

"We'll see about that," Jane replied. She managed to come up with a small plan of attack as they were leisurely walking to the empty basketball court at the gym. _If my jumper's not fallin' today, I'll just beat 'em in the post with my quickness._

"I think we should take a couple minutes to shake off the rust before we start," suggested Frankie. "It's been awhile since_—_

"You clocked me in the face and almost broke my nose?" Jane interjected; a tinge of sardonicism present in her tone.

"Oh c'mon, Jane. You know that was accident," Frankie answered with a grin.

The brother-sister tandem finally reached the court and slowly approached the hoop they were going to be using for their one on one game.

"Yeah, whatever," said Jane casually. She threw him the ball and watched as he began shooting a couple of mid-range jumpers.

"Hey, it's not like you're permanently disfigured or anything. Maura did a great job popping your nose back into place," said Frankie as he shot the ball again. Jane grabbed the rebound after seeing the ball ricochet off the front of the rim. She shot a 15 foot jumper moments later and watched as it swished through the net.

As their practice session continued, Frankie noticed that Jane was becoming increasingly quiet. He wondered for a short time whether or not her reticence had something to do with why she seemed like a shell of herself lately. The younger Rizzoli didn't want to poke and prod his sister too much considering how poorly she reacted towards him the last time he asked about what was bothering her. But in this instance, he thought it was at least worth a try.

"So," he began. "How's it going?"

Jane stopped shooting and passed him the ball. "How's what going?"

Frankie was trying his best to feign nonchalance. "Uh, you know…your cases. Anything interesting going on?"

"Not really. Why?" Jane responded.

"Nothing…just askin," Frankie replied. He dribbled the ball languidly and nervously cleared his throat before asking another question.

"So…how are things with you and Maura? You guys doin' alright?"

Jane shot her brother an expression of skepticism. "What's with all the questions all of a sudden? Did ma put you up to this?"

"No," said Frankie hastily. "Why would she?" he asked; he was genuinely curious.

"She's been breathing down my neck since I missed dinner two weeks in a row."

Frankie laughed.

Jane was appalled at his reaction. "Hey, this isn't funny ok? She won't leave me alone."

The brunette rolled her eyes as her brother unleashed a cackle of epic proportions.

He gathered himself a couple of moments later and said, "Well, like I said before, ma didn't put me up to anything. I just wanna make sure everything's ok between you two. Everyone's been noticing that you guys haven't really been yourselves lately."

"Wait a minute, who is everyone?" Jane demanded.

"You know… Frost, Korsak, Tommy, ma and maybe a few other co-workers," Frankie answered.

Jane placed her hands on her hips and sighed. _So much for trying to act 'normal.'_

The detective couldn't believe that she and Maura were too busy living in their own bubble to realize that the people around them would notice if they were acting differently towards each other.

Frankie placed the ball under his right arm and watched Jane closely; he noticed that she seemed to be contemplating something internally.

The brunette looked up and caught her brother staring at her with concerned brown eyes. She walked toward the right sideline moments later and motioned at Frankie to follow her lead. They both took a seat on the polished hardwood floor before Jane began speaking.

"Ok, so I'm gonna let you in on something. But before I say anything, I need you to promise me that you won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Not ma, not Tommy, not anyone," said Jane; a stern expression temporarily masking her face.

"I promise," replied Frankie earnestly.

Jane exhaled deeply before eventually mumbling something. Frankie's brown eyes seemed to become ten times larger upon hearing what she said.

"You what?" he exclaimed.

Jane repeated herself; her voice a bit louder this time around.

_**R&I**_

_**This is all her fault…it has to be. **_

_**She planted the seed in my head, and now I'm unconsciously looking for clues. Searching for things that don't exist; seeing and feeling things that aren't real.**_

_**I never saw her in that way; thought of us in that way. But now I do…and it's all her fault.**_

_The doctor stood still for a moment as she inhaled the steam from the hot water coursing over her body._

_**This is not how it's supposed to work. I'm not supposed to look into her eyes and see…**_

_She paused for a second as she struggled to find the right word._ _**Love?...Yes, but that's nothing unusual. I know that she loves me, she's my best friend.**_

_**Desire?**__ The M.E. inhaled deeply again before answering her question._ _**No, I'm just imagining things. **__She shook her head as if trying to rid her mind of her current thoughts._ _**This is all Susie's fault. She should've never mentioned that stupid retreat…that was incredibly unprofessional.**_

_She distracted herself with thoughts about Susie's professionalism for a few minutes before circling back to the real issue at hand._

_**This doesn't make any sense. One moment she's my best friend, and the next moment, I want to kiss her? How does that work? How does that happen? **__The doctor continued ruminating on these thoughts as if she were searching for a scientific explanation to her questions. She closed her eyes and tried to let the soothing warmth of the water cleanse her body and refocus her mind. _

_The last 40 minutes had basically been a blur for Maura since she rushed to the bathroom and left Jane standing in a cloud of confusion. At the time, she barely understood why she hauled ass in the first place. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get away from Jane…fast._

_At first, she didn't really want to make the effort to understand what happened because she was unconsciously afraid of what she might discover. But the more time the doctor spent in the shower, the more she began to let herself pick apart what happened. Her quick dissection of the situation eventually confirmed what she was trying so hard to deny in that moment. She realized that the reason why she ran was because she was scared. She was scared to death of what she was feeling, so she panicked and left._

_When Jane began opening up to her at dinner, her long buried feelings for the detective suddenly rose up to the surface and snuck up on her. The doctor felt totally ambushed and overwhelmed by her newfound romantic desire for Jane. In her mind, it was almost as if everything had changed in the blink of an eye. _

_Maura sensed that Jane perhaps felt something change between them as well, but she couldn't figure out whether or not she was just imagining things because of how she was feeling at the time._

_Her mind continued to race at the speed of light as she showered, and she eventually found herself contemplating things she never imagined she'd be thinking about when she first arrived home. Moreover, although she acknowledged to herself that the dynamics of her relationship with Jane had just changed dramatically within the past hour, she had no idea that their relationship would soon evolve faster than she ever thought it would later on._

_**R&I**_

_Jane was still standing exactly where Maura had left her approximately a few minutes ago. She was completely gobsmacked and couldn't believe what just happened. __**What the fuck am I supposed to do now?**_

_She gingerly took a couple steps forward and cursed herself internally for even attempting to do something like this. "This is just great," she muttered._

_The brunette could feel a wave of indignation rising within her; she suddenly went from being shell-shocked to being angry in just a matter of seconds. She wasn't sure what angered her most, the fact that Maura left before she could say anything more than she said, or the fact that she even tried telling her in the first place. She blew out the candles on the table, grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house moments later. Jane started her car and was headed home in a matter of minutes. Her temper immediately got the best of her as soon as she got behind the wheel. She was going 50 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and didn't seem like she was going to be slowing down anytime soon._

_The raven-haired detective managed to consistently stay over the speed limit for 10 minutes until she was startled by the sound of a siren. Jane looked in her rearview mirror and couldn't believe it when she saw a police cruiser behind her. She uttered an expletive when she realized that she left her badge at her apartment while hastily trying to organize her surprise for Maura. The brunette eventually pulled over and waited until the police officer arrived at her window. She looked over a few seconds later and was pleasantly surprised when she saw her brother standing on the other side of the glass. She breathed a sigh of relief before sliding her window down. _

"_Well if it isn't Detective Rizzoli," said Frankie with crooked grin; he absolutely loved moments like this. He always looked forward to capitalizing on any opportunity he had to be the 'boss' of his sister._

"_Are you just gonna stand there and gloat, or are you gonna let me go?" asked Jane, slightly annoyed._

_Frankie's grin dissolved into an austere expression. "Wait a minute, you were going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. You think I'm gonna let you go without a ticket cause you're my sister?"_

_Jane was a bit taken aback. "Are you serious?"_

"_No," replied Frankie swiftly. He laughed and enjoyed the bewildered expression that temporarily occupied Jane's face._

"_But seriously though, you need to slow down," said the younger Rizzoli. "Why were you going so fast?"_

"_Just trying to get home, officer," said Jane flatly; a slice of her famous sarcasm on display. "Can I go now?"_

_Frankie was a bit concerned about Jane's well-being but decided that it'd be best to just let her go on her way. "Yeah, whatever. Just slow down, please. I'd rather not lose you to an accident."_

"_Ok, I will," said Jane sincerely. She started her car moments later, and watched her brother get into his cruiser before pulling off. The brunette was considerably calmer after her little chit chat with Frankie and thus managed to keep herself from going over the speed limit as she continued her trip home. In fact, her quiet drive had been going very smoothly up until she found herself caught up in another unexpected delay just minutes after her encounter with Frankie._

_There was a great deal of traffic being caused by a car accident at an intersection up ahead. Jane wasn't in a position to see how bad it was, but as the cars in front of her began to slowly move ahead, she moved up as well and was eventually able to get a clearer picture of the scene. The detective was horrified at what she saw once she got close enough. A pickup truck traveling eastbound had slammed directly into the driver's side of a silver Camry that was traveling northbound at the intersection. The ambulance that arrived earlier was already making its way to the hospital, but based on what Jane saw in the aftermath of the crash, the fate of everyone involved in the accident seemed fairly grim. A chill ran down her spine as she glanced at the wreckage one final time before inching her car ahead._

_Besides the gruesome scene, the thing that troubled Jane the most about the accident was the fact that she could've sworn she saw that same silver Camry speeding in the left lane next to her early on. It was actually the last car she remembered seeing just before Frankie pulled her over. Goose bumps scattered across her arms as her realization set in._

_As a detective, Jane was always used to having hypotheticals rolling around in her head on a daily basis. It was just a natural part of her job and something that helped her fill in the blanks whenever she was lacking suspects in a particular case. But in this instance, Jane found herself meditating on a hypothetical that had nothing to do with any of her cases. She couldn't keep her mind off of the accident and what might have happened had Frankie not pulled her over. __**That could've easily been me…**_

_After being stuck in traffic for what seemed like the longest 15 minutes of her life, Jane finally arrived in front of her apartment. She sat in her car for a moment and actually found that she was feeling a bit foolish for being as angry as she was earlier in the evening. As she continued to ponder the situation, she was beginning to feel like she was drowning in a sea of regret. The detective now wished that she had stayed and at least tried to get Maura to talk to her instead of letting the doctor push her away. She kept thinking that if she hadn't let her anger get the best of her, then maybe she would have had enough sense to stay and talk things out. Even though Jane is widely regarded around BPD as one of the most fearless detectives on the force, in this moment, she felt anything but fearless. She was utterly disappointed in herself for shrinking like a violet in what could have possibly been the most important moment in her life. She was supposed to be better than this…stronger than this. Yet here she was, sitting alone in her car; feeling sorry for herself. This was not who she was, and it was certainly not someone she wanted to be._

_The brunette looked down at her wrist-watch and checked the time. __**Maybe I should go back…I need to finish what I started. **__Jane pondered the thought for no more than a couple of minutes before eventually beginning her drive back to Maura's place. _

_**R&I**_

_After spending an eternity in the shower, the hazel-eyed beauty distractedly strolled into her living room only to be startled Jane's presence. _

"_What are you still doing here, Jane?"_

_The slender detective smiled warmly at Maura. The M.E. was completely bare-faced and dressed in a silk green robe. Although she would never admit it, Jane always thought the doctor was most beautiful with no makeup on._

_The brunette nervously stood up from the sofa. "Um, I finished putting everything away while you were showering, and I was just wondering if we could talk…again."_

_Maura remained quiet and shot Jane an expression of befuddlement._

_Jane took a few steps forward and moved into the honey blonde's personal space. "Well…I left…but then I decided that I needed to come back."_

_As soon as Jane moved forward, Maura immediately became uncomfortable with being in such close proximity to her. She was squirming internally while desperately trying to play it cool on the surface. Although she clearly felt uncomfortable, she knew deep down that it wasn't the bad kind of uncomfortable that she was experiencing. It was the good kind. The kind that fills up your stomach with a thousand butterflies in a millisecond, and makes you unwittingly fall all over yourself in front of your crush. It was the kind that she struggled to understand and quantify for many years up until this moment. And now that she was finally experiencing this 'good' kind of uncomfortable, she quickly realized why it was so difficult for the scientific community to describe. In her mind, her feelings in this moment were both indescribable as well as unquantifiable._

"_Why?" asked Maura tentatively. Their eyes locked again for an extended period of time just as they had at dinner._

_Jane got even closer to the M.E. and laced her skinny fingers into Maura's delicate hands. "Because I'm in love with you, Maura," she breathed. The detective instantly felt like she was relieved of a huge burden the moment the words escaped her lips._

"_I'm in love with you," she repeated. She felt an urge to repeat it a thousand times over just because of how long she'd been holding it in._

_Jane took the liberty to continue after a beat of silence. "I don't know when it happened. And I certainly don't know where it happened. All I know is that I woke up one day, and you suddenly became the center of my world…heck, I'm starting to think that maybe you were always the center of my world, and that maybe I just too stubborn or blind to realize it beforehand. But whatever the case may be, I just wanna let you know that I love you with all my heart and that I never meant to hurt you by distancing myself from you these past few months. It's just…..I've felt this way about you for a long time now and I just didn't know how to handle it…I didn't know how to tell you… I'm sorry. The last thing I ever wanted to do was push you away," said Jane; her dark brown eyes glistening with sincerity. _

_Maura's sparkling hazel eyes were misty with tears. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She was as utterly incoherent as Jane was earlier in the evening. Their hands remained intertwined as Jane once again found herself waiting on a response from Maura. _

_Despite the deafening silence between them, Jane was very encouraged by the fact that Maura was still there. She knew that the landscape of their relationship would forever be altered by this moment. But regardless of what happened after tonight, she was determined to take advantage of this opportunity in order to show the honey blonde exactly how she felt. Jane's brown orbs slowly traveled from Maura's eyes and landed on her mouth. She gently moved her hands to the doctor's hips, and felt Maura shiver almost instantly under her delicate touch. _

_Even though it seemed like a slight shiver to Jane's chocolate eyes, Maura felt as though a current of electricity had just swept across her body and coursed through her veins. _

_The brunette reluctantly leaned her head down, hoping to capture the lips she had felt and tasted so many times in her dreams. Her lips slowly hovered over Maura's for a few seconds as her eyes momentarily sought permission from the doctor to proceed. _

_Maura closed her eyes for a moment as the heat of Jane's breath danced across her lips and wandered into her mouth. The honey blonde seemingly became intoxicated by lust as she gladly welcomed the brunette's breath into her body. She gave the detective a small nod of approval moments later and finally allowed her soul to succumb to its primal desire for Jane's kiss. _

_The lanky detective closed the small gap between them after a slight pause, and tantalizingly grazed her lower lip against the doctor's upper lip. This small movement created a shockingly intense sensation that sent every cell in Maura's body into a bonafide frenzy._

_Jane continued to slowly peruse the contours of Maura's lips before passionately enveloping them into her own. As soon as it happened, the brunette quickly realized that Maura's lips were just as soft as she imagined they'd be. They were soft but also…__**succulent.**__ They were perfect. This was perfect. And as the detective continued to revel in the taste of Maura's cherry chapstick, the doctor slowly overcame her initial hesitance and gradually began to respond to Jane's efforts with equal and unexpected fervor. She slid her tongue along Jane's bottom lip until the brunette allowed her the access she needed to greet her counterpart. _

_They simultaneously released a soft moan as Maura leaned closer into the detective's body and brought her dexterous hands up to cup Jane's cheeks._

_This was not something Maura ever imagined she'd be doing with Jane, but now that it was happening, she suddenly felt like she was being awakened from a lifelong, comatose-like slumber she didn't even know she was experiencing. It was almost as if her whole life had been a dream before this very moment._

_Both she and Jane remained completely bewitched and enthralled by one another until the calmness brought on by their overwhelming kiss was ultimately shattered by the sound of the front door being opened. They impulsively jumped back and tried to fabricate an aura of indifference before Angela appeared and ambushed Jane with her maternal concerns._

_The force known as 'Hurricane Angela' rumbled into the living room a couple seconds later and practically squealed the detective's name. "Jane! Are you ok? I saw your car outside and I just had to come over and check on you…are you feeling better?"_

_Jane ran her right hand through her black tresses before delivering a flat reply. "It was just a headache, ma. I'm fine."_

"_Are you sure?" the older woman asked._

"_Yeah," said Jane with a small smile. She was trying really hard to not show how irritated she was at the interruption. __**Worst. Timing. Ever.**_

_Angela looked over at Maura for the first time since arriving. "Is she gonna be ok?"_

_The M.E. laughed at Angela's unwillingness to believe Jane. "Yes…I promise."_

_The matriarch turned to Jane again. "So what are you doing here so late? Are you sleeping over?"_

_Jane and Maura replied in unison. "No!"_

_Angela looked at them like they had each grown a second head; she was a little taken aback by the conviction present within their joint response. The room was quiet for a moment until Jane shattered the awkwardness of the situation with her farewell. "Uh…I think I'm gonna call it a night and head home."_

_She grabbed her keys off of the coffee table and gave her mother a kiss on cheek. "See you later, ma."_

"_Goodnight, Janie. Drive safe. And don't forget to stop by the café tomorrow morning!"_

_Jane ignored the end of Angela's statement and made eye contact with Maura. "I guess I'll see you at work?"_

_Maura smiled. "Yeah," she replied softly._

_The matriarch watched the exchange with a suspicious eye. Although she instantly recognized that there was clearly something going on between the two women, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was…..at least not yet. Anyhow, she ultimately decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being, and head back to the guesthouse. She wished Maura a good night before eventually following Jane out the door._

**R&I**

Frankie had the biggest smile plastered across his face after listening to Jane speak. His initial shock dissipated and turned into enthusiasm once Jane was done explaining everything that happened.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

He playfully punched her on her left arm. "I can't believe you finally went for it."

Jane raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean 'finally went for it?'

"You know what I mean, sis."

"No, actually I don't," Jane retorted.

Frankie's wide grin shrunk a bit. "I mean, c'mon Jane. I think we could all pretty much sense from the very beginning that there was a little more than friendship going on between you two."

The brunette's first instinct was to rebut what he said, but she ended up keeping quiet once she decided that there was no point in arguing with him. Based on what Frankie had told her thus far, it seemed as though that everyone in their inner circle could clearly see that her connection with Maura completely transcended the confines of friendship. _Everyone except me and Maura apparently…it took me ages to figure it out._

"I don't understand. If this was supposedly so obvious to everyone, why didn't anyone say anything to me? Why didn't you say anything?" asked Jane. The detective found the entire situation to be a bit baffling at times.

"I don't know. I can't speak for the others but I, personally, just didn't think that anything would actually happen between you guys….it seemed like a real long shot."

A few beats of silence came and left before Frankie spoke again. "So…what's your plan?"

"Plan?" Jane chuckled a little. "I don't have a plan. I can't even get Maura to hang out with me right now."

Frankie looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "That sucks."

"Yeah, it really does. But from now on, I'm just gonna try to give her all the space that she needs until she's ready to talk to me. I don't wanna completely alienate her because of my impatience," said Jane thoughtfully.

The younger Rizzoli gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Listen, I'm sure everything's gonna work out just fine. I'd actually be pretty optimistic if I were you."

Jane shot him a look filled with incredulity. "Really?"

"Definitely. I mean, think about it. Not only did she let you kiss her, but she also kissed you back. She could've stopped you if she wanted to, but she didn't. That has to mean something, right?"

A small smile formed on the detective's lips "I guess."

The duo talked for a few more minutes before finally getting back out onto the court to start their one on one game.

**R&I**

Maura made her way to the island and grabbed the bottle of red wine that was sitting on the counter. Despite having already downed two glasses since arriving home, she felt as though that she could afford to loosen up a little bit more after her tiresome day at work. She leisurely walked over to the sofa and carefully poured some into the wine glass on the coffee table. Although the doctor had only been home for an hour, she was already quite bored with the way her evening was turning out. In fact, she was actually beginning to wish that she'd accepted Jane's offer to hang out.

The honey blonde took a small sip of her wine and soon found herself engaging in an internal debate that eventually resulted in her reaching for her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts list until she got to Jane's name. _Gosh, I really miss being with her…_

The M.E. entertained the idea of calling Jane for a few moments before ultimately defeating the temptation. She placed her phone back on the coffee table, and decided that she'd just have to deal with her loneliness until she made a definitive decision about her feelings for Jane. Although she very much enjoyed the kiss that they shared a few weeks ago, Maura was deathly afraid of what might happen between her and Jane if they were alone again. She was still very much in the process of working out her own feelings about the situation, so she didn't want to inadvertently get herself into a predicament where she would potentially be jerking Jane around.

In spite of the blonde's current uncertainty about the future of her relationship with the detective, the one thing she was definitely sure about was her romantic attraction to Jane. It honestly became something she could no longer explain away or deny after the brunette's heartfelt confession. And truth be told, if she shared this kind of mutual attraction with anyone else, they would probably be dating by now. But because her feelings are for Jane, the M.E. has committed herself to handling this situation as carefully as she possible.

As she doctor continued to sip her wine, she realized that her main dilemma ultimately came down to one thing. And that thing was whether or not she believed that pursuing a romantic relationship with Jane would be worth risking their incredible friendship. She couldn't bear the thought of possibly losing Jane if things ended up not working out the way they hoped.

Maura's mind continued to dwell on this possibility until she heard someone knocking loudly on the front door. She ambled over to the door, and was utterly astounded when she opened it and saw who was standing on the other side of the threshold.

**A/N: Can anyone guess who's at the door? Questions, comments and concerns are always appreciated. Thanks for reading :) Oh, and I'd like to send a special shout out to my friend Kate for being such a great sounding board!**


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